Animal marker



Jan. 15, 1935. G. F. BoHMBAcH ANIMAL MARKER Filed Aug. 25, 1952 :J1/www0@ Gordon Bohmbcch 9 @2M mezw@ Patented Jan. 15, 1935 STATES i?.arrliiv'r OFFICE. 4.1

GordonF Bohmbach, Minneapolis, Minn., as-

signor to Fred A. Keller, Minneapolis, Minn.

ApplicationAugust 25, 1932,y Serial No. 630,354

claims. (o1. 10i- 30).

My'invention relates to animal markers and has for its', object to Vprovide an animal marker by,means of which individual brand marks or characters may be conveniently and effectively tattooed upon certain of the parts of an animals .body s o that the owners thereof may readily identify their property.` A

Anothery object of the invention resides in providing `a marker of which the characters cannot be readilvchanged.-

A still `further object of the invention resides in `providinga marker vin which the parts are firmly held in proper position so that each imprint is'identically the same as previous imprints.

An object of the invention resides in constructing the markerwith complemental jaws guided for `movement relative to one another and in fur- .ther providing a plurality of marking dies applied to one of said jaws `for cooperation with a facing applied to the other of said jaws.-

i Another object of the invention resides in constructing the dies with body portions in which die 'elements forming the characters of the dies are mounted and in constructing said body portions Y n `structing the dies of my invention with a portion integral with/one another to forma single die' fblockeholding all of the die elements in prope .relation Y 1 A still'further object .of the invention resides linl-providing posts issuing from the die block and .constructed integral therewith and by means of which thedie block may be attached to one of the jaws ofV the marker. y

AAnother object of the invention resides in cast- .ing the posts and blocks from a relatively brittle metal so that tampering with the posts will cause breakage thereof and prevent removal of the block for alteration of the characters of the marker.

Avefeaturev of the invention resides in constructring the die elements as pins having ends embodied in the body portions of the dies and in constructingthe imbedded ends of thepins with shoulders fcrretaining the same `securely attached to the die block.

object of the invention resides in providing means `for removably mounting the facing on one oi the .jaws of the marker.-

object of `thefirivention resides-.in constrin. .said sheettbeinc Shor'terthan the strip to expose the ears formed on the encl of `the same.

. An object. of the invention resides`v in providing a mould for casting the die 'blockabout the die elements and in constructing the mould so that the posts maybe withdrawn from the cap in the separation ofl certainof the parts of the Amould from one another.

rOther objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangementofparts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevational view of an animal marker illustrating an embodiment of my invention and showing the dies and part of the jaw in section. t

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the marker shown in Fig. 1.

Fig'. 3 is a perspective View of one of the jaw facings detachedfrom the marker.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view o1' a die block detached from the marker. Y

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a mould usedforconof the mould .cut away to showv the internal con- `struction thereof.

.inability to identify the property of the owner.

The .instant inventiony provides adevice whereby poultry and livestock may be permanently and inability to identify the property of the owner. may be readily/identified and claimedand so that theft of such property may be easily proven.

My improved animal marker comprises pri- 12 .by means of which .the said parts may be brought. .together to perform their desired functions. .'Ihese parts will now be described in detail.-

`rlhe device l12 is in the nature of a pair of pliers which in thefform Vof the invention shown, are

constructed of sheetmetal and are formed with twohandles 13`- and 14 stamped in the desired maril-y a marking member 10 which cooperates .with a cushioned member 11 to penetrate the web of the wing of a fowl or rthe ear orother Asimilar part of an animal to tattoo a mark upon the animalby means of which the animal may .beureadily identified. The marking member 10 and the member 11v are mounted upon a device shape. These handles are arranged to cross one another and are formed with overlying walls which terminate in jaws 16 and 17 having faces 18 and 19 adapted to be moved toward one another as the handles 13 and 14 are manipulated. The walls 15 of the device are plvotally connected together through a pintle 20 which passes jointly through all of said walls and is riveted upon its exposed ends.

The marking member 10 is adapted to imprint certain characters upon the animal to be marked and in the instant invention is illustrated as capable of marking with three characters. For this purpose three die members are employed which are designated at 20, 21 and 22 in Fig. 4. These die members each comprise body portions 23, 24 and 25 which have imbedded in them die elements 26, 27 and 28 which are arranged or grouped to simulate any desired character to be impressed upon the animal to be marked. In the instant die the die elements 28 are arranged to form a cross, while the die elements 27 and 26 are arranged in the form of a letter F. In the construction of the die, the body portions 23, 24 and 25 are cast integral to form a single die block 29 so that rearrangement of the characters formed on the die is prevented.

The die 10 as shown in Fig. 1 is attached to the face 19 of jaw 17. For this purpose the die block 29 is constructed with two posts 30 and 31 which are adapted to extend through holes 32 and 33 in the face 19 of said jaw. The protruding ends of these posts are riveted or headed, as designated at 34 and 35 to hold the die block 29 securely attached to the jaw.

In the construction of the marking member l0, a special mould is used which is disclosed in detail in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. This mould consists of a base 36 which is formed from a ilat plate of metal having a smooth upper surface. Upon this plate is disposed a frame 37 which is constructed with a rectangular opening 38 serving as a chase in which suitable die element holders may be placed. The frame 37 is secured to the base 36 through rivets 39 which are counter-sunk so that the heads thereof lie flush with the upper surface of frame 37. The die element holders are indicated at 40 in the drawing and are of such dimensions that three of these die element holders t snugly within the chase 38. In these die element holders are drilled holes 4l which are arranged to depict the various characters desired to be printed upon the animal to be marked.

The mould further includes a mask 42 which is removably placed over the frame 37 and a cap 43 likewise removably overlying the mask 42. Mask 42 has formed in it an opening 44 of suitable dimensions to form the desired block 21 and to receive the ends of the die elements when the same are inserted in the various holes 4l. The cap 43 is constructed with two drilled holes 45 and 46 which when the cap 43 is disposed upon the mask 42 communicate with the cavity 47 within the mould formed by the opening 44 and terminating at the surface of the cap 43 and the upper surface of the die element holders 40. The various parts of the mould are secured together through two bolts 48 a-nd'49 which are threaded into the base 36 as indicated at 50 to permit of detachably securing the parts of the mould together. The bolts 49v are so constructed as to form guides for procuring proper arrangement of the parts of the mould when the same are assembled and the bolts screwed down.

The die elements used with the invention are preferably in the nature of pins best shown in Figs. 5 and 6 which are designated by the reference character 51. These pins are formed with sharpened ends 52 which are adapted to enter the outer skin of the animal to be marked and to penetrate the same. At the other ends of the pin 51 are formed shoulders 53 which become imbedded within the metal of the die block 29 and prevent loosening or removal of the pins from the same. The pins 51 may be formed by turnins as on an ordinary screw machine in which case the shoulders 53 are formed by turning a groove in the pin close to the end thereof.

In the construction of the dies the desired die holders are selected and placed in juxtaposition within the chase 38 in proper relative position. The various pins 5l are then set into the holes 4l of said die element holders with the pointed ends 52 in engagement with the top of the base 36 of the mould. Mask 42 is then placedgupon the frame 37 and the cap 43 placed upon the mask 42. Bolts 48 and 49 are then applied without disturbing the position of the various pins 51. While the parts are so arranged molten metal is poured in one of the holes 45 or 46 which serves as a sprue hole until the metal ows about the Various pins and forms the die block 29. I have found that a metal including antimony or bismuth, such as type metal, is very effective due to the fact that the same readily flows in the corners of the mould and serves to securely hold the pins attached to the die block. Such metal is also quite brittle and causes the posts to break in the event attempt is made to remove the die block for the purpose of alteration.

In the formation of the die block the sprues formed in the casting of the block are retained and form the posts and 3l by means of which the die block is attached to the face of the jaw. In dissembling the mould the meeting surfaces or the frame 37 and the mask 42 are beveled to provide wedge-shaped notches 54 into which a screw driver may be inserted to pry the parts of the mould apart after the bolts 48 and 49 have been removed. The die element holders are preferably loosely fitting within the chase 38 so that the same adhere to the pins 5l when the two parts of the mould are separated. These die element holders may thereafter be readily removed singly as by means of a pair of pliers or otherwise after the mould has been dissembled. In the construction of the posts 30 the same are preferably formed cylindrical. This causes considerable difficulty in withdrawing the same from the holes and 46 in the cap 43. To facilitate the withdrawal of the casting from these holes the walls of the opening 44 in mask 42 are formed tapered as indicated at 56. The cap 45 and the mask 42 are constructed with notches 55 similar tothe notches 54 whereby the said plates may be spread apart. Due to the taper on the Walls of the opening 44 the posts 30 and 31 are Withdrawn from the holes 45 and 46 instead of Withdrawing the die block 29 from the cavity in which it was formed. When these posts have been completely disengaged from the mould the die block 29 may be withdrawn from the opening 44 of the mask 42 by movement in the opposite direction. In this manner the posts are formed cylindrical throughout their extent whereby the same may be readily headed or riveted to attach the die block to the jaw of the marker.

The member 11 forms a facing for the jaw 16 of the marked by means of which injury to the points 52 of pins 51 is prevented and by means of which the die elements may be caused to penetrate into the skin the desired amount regardless of the irregularity of the structure upon which the marking is to be performed. This member comprises a mounting strip 57, Fig. 3, which is of a width substantially equal to that of the facing 18 of body 16 and which is of approximately the same length assaid jaw. This strip is cut away at the corners thereof as indicated at 58 to form ears 59 and 60 projecting from the strip and of a width equal to the distance between the walls 15 of the marker. Upon the mounting strip 57 is wrapped a sheet of resilient material such as rubber which I have designated at 159 and which is secured to the mounting strip through two overlying parts 160 and 161 adapted to be cemented or otherwise secured together. These portions form a cushion against which the sharpened point 52 of thepins 51 may contact when the facing has been properly applied to the jaw 16. For the purpose of securing the facing to the jaw the ears 59 and 60 are bent back as shown in Fig. 1 to embrace the facing 18 of the jaw and to securely hold the same attached thereto.

In the use of the invention, ink is applied to the points 52 of the pins 51 andthe member of the animal to be marked is placed between the two jaws 16 and 17. The handles 13 and 14 of the marker are then brought together causing the points 51 to penetrate through the outer skin of the animal and to apply ink thereto. The marker is then removed and the surplus ink rubbed into the cavities formed in the skin. This tattooes the animal in the customary manner causing a permanent to be formed in the animal which cannot be removed except through the removal of the skin itself. If desired, the points 52 of the pins 51 may be caused to pass completely through the web of the poultry when the marker is used for marking poultry only. In either case the ink becomes imbedded beneath the skin of thev animal -and leaves the desired marking.

My improved marker is highly advantageous in that an extremely simple and effective device is provided which produces the desired results in a positive and expeditious manner. The marker can be constructed at a nominal cost and will operate indefinitely. The die elements are securely held in place in the die block and once the same are properly attached cannotI be easily loosened or removed. Once the marker has been completed it is practically impossible to change the die elements or to reconstruct the die to produce markings other than those originally intended. The facing may be easily replaced by bending the ears of the mounting therefor and another facing applied when the resilient material forming the cushion thereof becomes injured or worn, through repeated use of the marker. With my improved invention only one hand is necessary in the manipulation of the marker so that no assistant is required in the use of the invention. The various parts of the invention are securely attached to the jaws of the marker so that danger of the parts becoming detached is entirely prevented.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A facing for animal markers consisting of a pair of relatively movable jaws, one carrying die elements, said facing comprising a mounting strip, a cushion member secured to said mounting strip, and ears formed on said mounting strip for engagement with the other of the jaws of the marker.

2. A facing for animal markers consisting of a pair of relatively movable jaws, one carrying die 20 elements, said facing comprising a mounting strip constructed of an elongated strip of flexible material, a sheet of resilient material Wrapped transversely about said mounting strip and constructed with juxtaposed portions, said sheet falling short of the ends of the strip to leave ears projecting therefrom, said ears being bendable into engagement with the other of the jaws of the marker.

3. In an animal marker comprising a pairof relatively movable jaws, one of said jaws being constructed with spaced side portions and a face portion extending between said side portions and free at its ends, a facing comprising a mounting strip constructed of flexible material, the ends of said mounting strip being of a width to nt between the side portions of said jaw, said ends of' the mounting strip being bent back over the free ends of the face portion of the jaw and a cushion attached to said mounting strip.

4. In an animal marker comprising a pair of relatively movable jaws, one of said jaws being constructed from sheet metal and being formed with a face portion and with spaced parallel side portions bent up from the sides of the face portion and extending along the same, a block mounted on said face portion, posts formed integral with said block and extending through said face portion, and heads formed on said posts and extending into the space between said side portions and being protected thereby.

5. In an animal marker comprising a pair of relatively movable jaws, one of said jaws being constructed with a face, a facing comprising a mounting strip, a cushion of resilient sheetmaterial wrapped about said mounting strip and attached thereto, and means attached to said mounting strip and engaging said jaw for holding the cushion against the face of the jaw with the mounting strip substantially parallel with the face of the jaw.

GORDON F. BOHMBACH. 

